Page Contents:
- Equine Seminar
- Horse Bushfire Advice
- Strangles
1. Equine Seminar
As autumn descends is your pasture prepared for Spring?!
Meaghan Sutherland (DVN, CVN, CeqVN)
As we head into autumn and the weather begins to change, many small property owners with horses are busy getting their property, and horses ready for the fast approaching winter months. Few amongst us have stopped to ponder what needs to be done at this time to improve the property for SPRING!! Having this foresight can not only aid the health and wellbeing of your four legged grass munching best friend, but also help in reducing costs, which is a bonus for all. Do you own a horse? Do you own a small amount of land on which that horse lives? Have you done anything to improve the pasture on that property? If not, the time is NOW!
With this in mind, Gisborne Veterinary clinic has chosen to make pasture, weed and feeding management the focus for this year’s annual equine seminar. This seminar is aimed to provide attendees with the knowledge to improve their properties pasture, identify and manage weeds in the local environment and manage those tricky ‘Good doers’ who seem to survive on the smell of an oily rag.
Gisborne Veterinary Clinic is proud to present nationally acclaimed author and expert on small horse property management, Jane Myers MSc (equine) at their upcoming seminar. Jane is the author of Managing Horses on Small Properties, Horse Safe and is co-author of Horse Sense (both published by the CSIRO) and will present Pasture and its importance to horses. In this presentation she will talk about the importance of grazing and grass for both horses and the environment, how to manage and improve it. Pasture management principles are similar for large or small horse properties. The main objectives include growing grass in order to reduce the feed bill, maintaining good groundcover, reducing the worm (parasite) burden of horses and controlling weeds.
“Caring for your horse property is equally as important as caring for your horse. Horses are not native to Australia, and can cause a huge impact on the environment if the land that they live on is not cared for properly.
Caring for your horses and the land that they live on does not need to be an expensive undertaking. In fact often a slight change in the way that you do things can lead to big savings and have many benefits, including:
Improved health for the horses and people who live on the property.
Lower feed bills due to more grass for a longer period of the year.
Happier neighbours, fewer flies and less dust and mud.
Cleaner water and more habitat for wildlife.
An increased property value.
An effective horse property management system saves time and expense while at the same time is good for the environment. For example, pasture grown for horses also protects the soil. Trees grown for shelter provide habitat for insectivorous birds and bats. In turn these animals eat pest insects by the thousands. A well managed horse property provides a variety of plants that in turn support many animals – an ecosystem. The more diverse the ecosystem, the better it can cope with environmental stresses such as floods, fire, drought, pests and disease.
Good horse property management is a win win for all!” Jane Myers ‘Managing Horses on Small Properties’
Weeds in the Local Environment, will be presented by Mark Whyte from the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and will aid attendees in identifying weeds in the local environment both pictorially and through pot bound samples. Once identification has occurred the aim is to not only manage, but also reduce the weed burden within the pasture, which aids the health of all, both pasture and horse.
The final topic of the evening is close to many horse owns hearts Feeding the ‘Good doer’. Unlike their Thoroughbred counterparts who as a general rule are able to enjoy regular feeds with very little to no impact on their waist lines, owners of ‘Good doers’ are continually faced with many difficult questions; What do I feed to my pony/ horse to give it the energy to perform without causing health problems caused by excessive weight? How do I balance the ponies/ horses nutritional requirements with its ever expanding waist line despite riding them every day? I can’t feed them nothing? To aid these owners, representatives from KER Dr Peter Huntington and Dr Clarissa Brown Douglas will present information on how to manage these ponies/ horses and their dietary requirements.
So come along and be inspired to provide a better environment and lifestyle for all including your equine friend. The evening is to be hosted at Gisborne Golf Club at 7pm on the 7th of April 2010 by Gisborne Veterinary Clinic. Admission is free and seats are limited, so bookings are essential on 54 28 28 05 or equine@gisbornevets.com.au.
2.
Horse Bushfire Advice
Have a fire safety plan.
- You may choose early evacuation of horses to a safer district, however it is worth identifying a “safe” area on your property where horses can be placed if evacuation is not possible
Criteria for a “Safe” area on your property
- As large as possible – give them plenty of room to move, horses will suffer minimal burns if given maximum space. They will gallop through flames, or around their edges, and stand on the blackened, previously burnt area.
- Closely grazed paddock
- Ideally have a dam with clear access
- A large well fenced sand ménage – provided there are no trees or buildings nearby that will burn readily
On total fire ban days, or when fire strikes, put your horses in the designated “safe” area
- REMOVE ALL EQUIPMENT from your horse including:
- Rugs – they will burn
- Halters – synthetics will melt, metal buckles may get hot and burn
- Fly masks – will melt
- Plait tails and manes up, or if you don’t have time cut them off
- Fill troughs, baths, sinks and metal buckets (not plastic as they will melt) with reserve water for later use
- Turn off power and gas and disconnect electrical fences
DO NOT
- Shut horses in stables or small yards
- Never turn them out on the road – they will be in danger from traffic and they may cause an accident which you will be legally responsible for.
- Do not stay with your horse to try to sooth it, you cannot provide assurance when smoke is everywhere and the sound of fire is deafening. Go inside the house and do not put your own life in additional danger.
Permanent identification of your horse assists in re-uniting lost horses with their owners. While brands are useful in identifying your horse they do not help locate the owner. In this way microchips are superior.
- Microchip contact details are held by Central Animal Records (CAR).
- NB; In a bush fire situation phone lines may be down, houses or mobile phones destroyed it may be hard to contact the owner of a microchipped animal. The details held by CAR should contain an alternate contact (ie a person not living with you who can be contacted on your behalf if unobtainable). If you have a friend or relative in a safer district, it might be worth putting them down as your alternate contact.
This information was largely obtained from the DPI factsheet Horses and Bushfires. To view the original article copy and paste the following link into your internet address bar; http://www.dpi.vic.gov.au/DPI/nreninf.nsf/9e58661e880ba9e44a256c640023eb2e/29ba41fb3bb9394bca257302000f99de/$FILE/AG0858_May07.pdf
3. Strangles
Strangles is caused by a bacteria called Streptococcus eui. It occurs wordwide and is very contagious.
The severity of the disease can vary, some animals may show virtually no signs, some may be a bit depressed for a few days and others will show more classic symptoms.
Transmission is via direct contact with nasal discharge or pus from ruptured abscesses in infected horses and exposure to contaminated buckets, halters, leads, brushes, clothing, fences, stables, etc.
Incubation period of 2-6 days - meaning it may take up to 6 days for signs and symptoms to show.
Signs and symptoms include; depression, clear, watery nasal discharge that becomes thicker and yellow, swelling of th glandss under the chin and behind the jaw/throat latch area, head and neck stretched out and a fever (Temperature of 38.5-38.8 is suspect of a fever but a temperature of over 38.8 is definately a fever).
Prevention: You need to minimise the spread of the disease by isolating infected horses from healthy horses on the property. Where possible people need to avoid going from the affected property to another horse property as they could potentially spread Strangles. They should go home (or wash as first property), wash, change their clothes and disinfect their boots or wear another pair of boots before going near any other horses.Any new arrivals to the infected property should be isolated from other horse for 7-14 days to assess whether they carry any infection and to prevent them from giving it to resident horses on the property. Euipment such as buckets, feed bins, halters, brushes should not be shared between horses. If these items have been exposed to an infected horse they should be disinfected.
Vaccination: None of the vaccines guarantee prevention of strangles, they may prevent disease or reduce severity of the disease. It takes 7-10 days for the immune system to develop a protective response to vaccination.
